Magdalane fell asleep on the short ride home. She'd napped during the day, but since her hormones were on overdrive, she'd kept Felix up some the evening before, not that he'd minded except he knew she needed rest. He looked over at her sleeping profile, and wondered again how he'd gotten so very lucky to have met and fallen in love with her. He looked in the rear seat to see Michi slumped in her child seat, sleeping as well. When he parked at their house, he leaned over to kiss Mags, seeing her smile at him as she woke. "We're home, love. I'll get the sprout." He got Michi out of her seat, never waking her, and took her in to her crib. We're going to have to get another one of these, I guess, he mused. He heard Magdalane in the kitchen, no doubt making a cup of tea before bed, and just the realization that he knew her so well made him grin. He walked into the kitchen, and saw his lovely wife silhouetted against the window, the twin moons bright. Her hands rested lightly on her belly, and he was hit with the realization that his son was growing there. His son! He loved his daughter with his whole heart, but there was something about a son that grabbed him.
She felt his presence then, and turned to smile at him. He walked to where she was standing, putting his arms around her and his chin on her shoulder. "You look so beautiful in the moonlight," he told her, and put his hand over his growing child, "and the little one is growing so fast." He kissed her then, and Mags forgot her tea, swept up in her love for him.
Corso helped Miriah out of the speeder, kissing her as she turned. They held each other for a minute, just content to be close, then made their way into the house. It was quiet, Sarai having gone to bed early. She'd been having a great time with Devin, who was getting more independent every day. He was even less clingy today, Miriah thought, and more willing to do things with his Nana. Corso saw her smile, and asked what she was thinking of.
"Devin, and his Nana, playing in the dirt this afternoon. I've never seen Mom get dirty before, she'd have skinned us for getting that dirty on Tython." She walked into the kitchen, and turned to ask Corso if he wanted a glass of wine. When she turned, he was right there, stroking her cheek and bending to kiss her, then bending further to kiss the spot she loved behind her ear. She shivered and lifted her chin, making her neck more accessible to him. Ever since a Sith lord had force choked her, almost a year ago now, her neck was exquisitely sensitive and she was now trembling as he ran his warm tongue over her skin. She was melting under his touch when he lifted her in his arms and took her to their room, where he gently loved her until she couldn't think about anything but him.
Aric was still torn about the Garza mission, and Maura could tell it was still on his mind, even though he was gently stroking her back. She finally asked him, "What is worrying you so much, hon?"
He sighed, snuggling to her, "I don't know, there's just something I can't put my finger on that bugs me about Garza's request. And I think I saw Felix scowl when Zentih's name came up, just for a second." He put his arms around his wife and hugged her close, the scent of her skin making him forget about Garza and her holomail and focus only on her.
By morning, the group was rested and ready to think about the holomail. They met at the office and put the kids in the playroom. Sarai had only been there a few times, and was always amazed at all the technology crammed into the building. Miriah was busily typing at her computer terminal, as was Maura. Magdalane was working with a smartboard, drawing a timeline and putting in pertinent facts. Aric turned to Felix, catching his attention.
"Would you send a message to Zenith? Just to let him know to keep his eyes open for anything unusual?" Felix nodded, and Aric didn't see any change in his expression. He frowned into his now empty caffa mug and walked to the break room to get more. He saw the cookies Miriah had brought and took a couple, and met Sarai's laughing eyes as he turned to leave.
"I can't resist Mir's cookies, ever," he told his mother in law, and she nodded.
"Me either. I'll have to start exercising more regularly now that I'm moving here," she grinned. "I don't know how the girls stay so slim with all this great food around." She glanced at her youngest daughter as she said this, and decided to take her something to nibble on. She can use about ten pounds, she thought. Sarai took several cookies and some juice to Miriah, who only looked up after Sarai cleared her throat, she was so engrossed in her work.
"Oh, thanks Mom," Miriah smiled at Sarai. "I didn't hear you come in." She was searching Senate documents for the phrasing and grammar used in the threatening holomails, a tedious process given all the nonsensical language in the official documents. Miriah hated these types of searches, types of missions, really. It seemed so artificial, when there were military ops that needed attention, but she felt indebted to the stern general who'd gone out of her way to help them find Corso's cousin a few months ago.
"Eat up, my girl. You're worrying me with this thinness. As fast as your son is growing, he'll overtake you soon." Miriah picked up a cookie and took a big bite, making her mother smile.
"We're grilling at the house for everyone tonight, so I'm sending C2 to the market, need or want anything?" Miriah looked over at Corso, bent over his workbench, running checks on current ops for any issues. He looked more rested than he had in weeks, and had a quiet contentment about him now. Devin ran in from the playroom to his dad, and Corso picked him up, putting him on his knee and talking to the smiling little boy. Her men, she thought, and Dev is growing fast. She grinned as Devin put his head on Corso's shoulder, and she saw Corso's face. He hugged the little boy close, and put his cheek on his son's head as he continued to read his computer terminal. Sarai followed Miriah's gaze, and the tender smile her daughter had.
"Two of a kind, those two are," Sarai observed.
"Oh, I sure hope so, he could do so much worse than be like his dad," Miriah said, "His dad is a pretty great guy." She grinned at her mom, who agreed.
Corso was reading through the latest weapon specs, absently rubbing his son's back. Another growth spurt, he thought, and he'll be bigger than Colin, who was a year older. He put the little boy on his shoulder, where he snuggled in, happy. "Love daddy," his son whispered, just before he dropped into sleep. Corso smiled, his heart was full and happy. Miriah walked over to them.
"He's missed you, these past weeks. He would ask where you were, and nod when I would tell him that you were in the barns, but he still missed you." He took her slender hand in his, brought it to his lips.
"I missed you guys, too. Even though I got to see you for a few minutes a day, I still wished I was with you both all the time. And I think he's going through a growth spurt again, I don't know how you stand up with him if he's asleep, darlin'. " He stood then, and they walked to Aric's desk. "We're taking this guy home to nap, see you all later this afternoon, okay?"
"Sure thing," Aric told them, "hopefully we'll have some responses to the messages sent later today or tomorrow, Mir has her search going, Maura is running known associates and is almost done, and Mags is looking at the current political situation there, just got her report but haven't read it yet. I sent messages to the army brass there, the Republic liaison is an old friend, and I should hear from him later. Not a whole lot else we can do right now anyway." He walked to the multipurpose room, where their speeder sat. "We'll see you in a bit," he told them, helping Miriah up. Sarai had come in on the small speeder, so she would be leaving on her own. Maura joined Aric in the doorway, linking her arm in his.
"Let's gather ours up, too. All we can do now is wait anyway, and maybe I would like a little snuggle time with you," she told him, getting his immediate attention. They herded the kids to the speeder and took off, leaving Felix, Mags and Sarai at the office. Sarai took off for the ranch house, and Felix and Mags loaded their speeder, locked the office, and took off for home. They'd just arrived when Magdalane's holo chimed, and she dug it out of the gear bag she'd been using as a carry all when they were on the move. She activated the holo and saw Zenith.
"Hello, Zenith, how are you?" she asked, seeing her former crew mate and friend. She felt the wariness that Felix was putting out but still didn't understand what the animosity was between those two. They chatted for a few minutes, catching up, and then Zenith asked a question.
"Mind if I drop in on my way to Coruscant in two days? I'd love to meet your daughter and I think I can provide some insight on a mission your group is working on." Mags was surprised, as close as her crew was when they'd worked together, once she'd married and had Michi they'd drifted apart, and Zenith was the first to leave. She looked quickly at Felix, saw his scowl and nod, and told Zenith they'd be happy to see him. Once she'd disconnected, she looked at her husband.
"What happened that you and Zenith got so crossed with each other? I remember going down to Belsavis for an hour and coming back, and you two never speaking to each other again. I never asked, because I shouldn't have to know everything, but now I'm asking." She stood, her arms crossed, her expression stern, and waited for him to meet her gaze.
Felix, peacemaker that he was, tried to move around her but she wouldn't let him. He knew she'd kept her silence about this for a long time now, and he hesitated but then started to speak. "You left for the planet, and Zenith had been drinking. He made some comment about how he'd have been in your quarters if only he'd had a chance to make his move, and included some crude comments about us both, so I punched him." He shrugged. "That's it, we never spoke of it, or anything else, since that night." Mags was staring at him, open-mouthed.
"That was years ago now, Felix! And I had no idea Zenith ever even thought of me that way. He certainly never said or did anything to make me think that. I mean, you guys worked together for almost two years and never talked to each other? How does that even happen?"
"Datapad messages," he grinned. "We didn't really need to communicate much anyway, and we just left messages when we did. I'm sorry, honey, but no one talks about my wife like that and just walks." She just shook her head, she'd never understand the male ego, she thought.
"Well, you have me, Felix. Sometimes I'm not sure you wanted so much of me, but here I am," she indicated her expanding middle. Her expression grew serious then, "Are you sure you're okay with this? Everything? He'll only be here a short time, and maybe we can gain something useful without having to travel to get the info." Felix crossed to her where she was leaning on the counter and drew her into a hug.
"I will be on my best behavior, sweetheart, I promise. And I love you, all of you. I mean, that's my son in there, how can I not love how you look carrying him?" His infectious grin made her smile.
"Don't forget Michi in your excitement about Ian, " she told him. "She's daddy girl, and needs your attention, too."
"Don't worry, hon. Michi will always have her own part of my heart, and I love her as much as I love you, you know that." He looked at her, seeing her fatigue.
"I do know that, but I don't want her to ever question it." Felix nodded his agreement and led her to stretch out on the couch while their daughter napped.
Corso and Miriah were on the porch, in their swing, in their usual lounging position. Miriah was almost asleep, enjoying the warmth of his body against her and the lazy motion of the swing, when she sat up suddenly and looked at him in horror. "Oh, Cor, I just thought of something. You know who was involved with the protests on Balmorra, and I know, and I think we just blocked his name from our minds when this all came up."
"Brock. I already thought of it, darlin', last night when we were at Aric's house. He's already queued up for a background and proximity check, in fact it may be running now." He settled her back against him, rubbing her back much as he'd done to Devin earlier.
"Well, you seem awfully calm about mentioning his name. Not like last year, when you went ballistic." She looked at him curiously, wondering what was going on in his mind. He saw her studying him, and laughed.
"If he's involved, we'll find out, and Garza will take him out. If he's only on the sidelines, we'll find out and Garza will still take him out. Either way, not a problem for me." He grew quiet, seeing her eyes start to close, and wondered if the Twi'lek had enough sense to get far, far away from the Senate building that he'd once protested. Corso almost hoped he didn't, and grinned to himself as he felt Miriah relax in sleep.